I am all about health and fitness during pregnancy and for new mums, but there is no escaping the fact that we are all built differently and our bodies will grow and change and adapt to carrying a baby in different ways.

Some girls have tiny bumps, other are big all over. Some will be left with a huge tummy and some will be left with a wobbly bum. Some will be left with hardly any weight at all!

My advice would be to exercise during pregnancy, particularly keeping your core strong, other muscles fit and toned and heart and lungs fit and healthy with cardio exercise. Also, to not eat excessively, just consuming a couple of hundred extra calories a day in the last trimester (and a bit more if you are exercising). That way, however your body responds you have the best possible chance of losing your baby weight quickly. If you do nothing at all during pregnancy you are probably going to have a harder time getting back into shape afterwards.

This is aside from all the amazing benefits this will bring you and your baby, compared to inactive and overweight mums.

Personally I think she looks amazing now and she is absolutely right not to model herself on anyone else. For the record I also think Amanda Holden looks incredible and I’m not sure that ‘it’s in her genes’ as Jodie says. I bet she did lots of clever exercise throughout her pregnancy and as soon as she could afterwards – you don’t get results like that by magic!

Lets not try to be like anyone else and be happy and healthy in our own skins.

This is an interesting article from the Guardian. It talks about a new piece of research in the BMJ that shows that those who watched their weight were 3.84kg lighter and had fewer complications (such as premature birth and pre-eclampsia) than those who didn’t.

This certainly doesn’t mean women should diet and cut calories during pregnancy, but it does mean that there is no need to consume lots more extra calories, particularly during early pregnancy.

Previous studies have also shown that women who are already overweight or who become obese in pregnancy, risk complications not just at birth (including a higher rate of caesarean section, blood loss and infections afterwards) but as their children become adults.

A study looking at the link between mothers’ weight gain and the weight of their children found that decades later their children were more likely to be obese if their mothers had been so during pregnancy.

Yet more evidence that staying fit and healthy during pregnancy is beneficial for mum and baby.

You would think with all the evidence that we have nowadays that women would feel confient exercising during pregnancy. Unfortunately, this is still not the case for many. One of the contributing factors may well be outdated advice from their doctor or midwife.

I have just come across this Guardian article about working mothers which is really interesting:

“Mothers do not harm their young children emotionally or socially by going out to work, according to research that offers reassurance to women worried about juggling jobs and family responsibilities. In fact, girls seem to gain from being in a household where their mother works, according to analysis of families with children born in 2000.

“In a project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, a team from the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London found no evidence of detrimental effects on the young children of mothers working part-time or full-time.”

If you are anything like me the guilt of going to work and leaving your baby at nursery never completely goes away. It’s nice to read about some proper research that shows we are helping our kids by going out to work in ways other than bringing in the money. I think too many people expect life to be easy – in reality if you want good things – relationships, a nice body, a good job – you have to work hard for them! I am happy to be showing my daughter that hard work leads to positive things.